REVIEW: VideoPano for the iPhone

The amazing app VideoPano, that only works for the iPhone 3GS, makes panoramic images straight from videos! Will it beat out Pano as my favorite panoramic iPhone app… ever!?

Let’s find out!

Here’s the first test image I took with the app. I LOVE the crazy perspectives you can achieve! But I don’t love the image quality. This is where Pano beats out its competitor. The photo resolution the iPhone 3GS can manage will always outweigh how good the video quality is. For a frame of reference, here’s one of the best pics I took with Pano. As you can see, the Pano image looks better.

Granted, the test image was done in very, very low light. So let’s try the kitchen again, shall we?

Actually…

I’m not even going to post the picture since VideoPano could not do the entire kitchen like Pano. It did only about 1/4 of the room. It’s not even worth posting! I’m upset that it can’t do extremely large panoramics (the Pano shot took almost 16 photos to make), but it does do amazing quick shots and provides the user some really interesting perspectives. Here’s another example:

Where VideoPano differs from Pano is that Pano generally creates hard angles when taking photos like this. I don’t use these panoramic apps to create long shots of scenic areas. I create shots like the one above. It’s a more interesting use of space and because of this, I’m in love with VideoPano.

So who wins? For of it’s ease of use, I would suggest VideoPano… to beginners. It’s great for those who want to take quick panoramics and I love that I can create interesting perspectives on close up shots. For people who want better looking panoramics that take advantage of the 3GS and it’s auto-focus camera, I would say download Pano. Making a panorama takes longer and requires more work, but you get much cleaner pictures, which is worth the effort.